akflightmedic

You are right about the salaries in Palm Beach County. EMTs start at 40K and medics start at 46K and they all get a 5% raise each year for 8 years. That is why it is so competitive to get a job there as well. Good Luck!

But you are comparing apples to oranges. The salary you quote is that of a very large, WEALTHY government that is providing dual role services. This means being a firefighter. A lot of the members here are single role providers. I would like to see you go make 40K without pulling a lot of OT as an EMT in Florida. You will not do it, I guarentee it. It will require many hours of overtime. Historically, fire/rescue services always pay more because of the dual role and the fact that the IAFF puts a stronghold on every council member and makes raises and/or decent salaries happen. I am not saying it is a bad thing, but it is definitly what we need to do as single role providers. If you don't speak up and throw fits like the IAFF does, you will never get more money or a living wage. And I say this as a former member of the IAFF and soon to be again member...

That is correct. All your calls must equal 181 minutes as that would mean you did not get 5 hours of uninterrupted rest. They are playing by the rules in that regard.

You need to change it by presenting facts and figures that gives them a reason to change it.

OR

Take longer on every call, drive the speed limit everywhere.

Another important thing to add into that time is run reports. If they are basing the 181 mins on call time alone, then they are in for a rude awakening when you add up the time for run reports, restocking, refueling and anything else job related before going to bed. You could even through in a shower or two as it is sometimes necessary to clean yourself after a particular call so you are nopt stinky for the next run..and since you got stinky doing their work, it is job related. There are many technicalities you can use to your advantage if they wish to play hardball....

Unless you are in a collective bargaining group(union), what your employer is doing is ILLEGAL.

Yes, there are agencies that still break the law. A close friend of mine went through this same ordeal several years ago and he was awarded a huge backpayment for hours worked. This practice will continue until it is challenged.

Here is the link, look for yourself. I will also cut and paste some highlights...

http://www.dol.gov/elaws/esa/flsa/hoursworked/default.asp

Time which an employee is required to be at work or allowed to work for his or her employer is hours worked. A person hired to do nothing or to do nothing but wait for something to do or something to happen is still working. The Supreme Court has stated that employees subject to the FLSA must be paid for all the time spent in "physical or mental exertion (whether burdensome or not) controlled or required by the employer and pursued necessarily and primarily for the benefit of the employer of his business."

I think this sums it up nicely. Your agency is still stuck in the 80's...

Your sleep time is probably not hours worked.

If you are able to get 5 or more hours of sleep, the sleep time is not considered hours worked. However, your employer can only deduct the actual number of hours spent sleeping, up to a maximum of 8 hours. For example, if you receive 6 hours of sleep, your employer can only deduct 6 hours for sleeping from the work period. This determination is made on the basis of what happens during each sleep period.

Your employer can deduct a maximum of 8 hours of sleeping time provided:

You are on duty for 24 hours or more;

You and your employer have an agreement to exclude from hours worked bona fide meal periods and a bona fide regularly scheduled sleeping period of not more than 8 hours;

You are provided with adequate sleeping facilities by your employer; and

You can usually get an uninterrupted night's sleep of 8 hours.

(This determination is made on the basis of what happens during each sleep period.)

Even though you may sleep more than 8 hours, a maximum of 8 hours can be deducted from the 24 hours you are required to be on duty. All interruptions of your sleep must be counted as hours worked.

If you and your employer do not have such an agreement all of the time (24 hours) is hours worked.

For more information, please contact your local Wage and Hour District Office.

Hope this helps you, but basically what they are doing is wrong...

One way to get this changed, without ruffling too many feathers is put together a presentation where you trend out several months of calls and hours worked for the department. You show them that they are consistently biting the bullet and paying for the whole shift anyways, so they might as well make it easier on the employees and the payroll department by putting everyone on pay around the clock. Show them that they are not saving any money doing it their way.

Jake proved my point.

Its ok, funny, or not deemed as serious when the role is reversed.

26 year old female teacher and 14 year old male student...many guys said I wish that would have happened to me....

Reverse the gender and it suddenly becomes OMG, thats disgusting and I would kill the bastard.

What about all female crews and its a male patient?

Tell me a female has never committed a sexual crime.

This kind of stuff aggravates me to no end. Its a double standard that needs to go away. You get what you get, geez you aren't shopping at Wal Mart for crying out loud. Act professional at all times and document, document, document. The only thing we used to do was radio in our starting and ending mileage (which is recorded and time stamped) and then tx accordingly.

Keep the lights on and stay in constant verbal and/or visual contact with your partner...

I have found many old friends from classmates.com...give them a try

I found friends from the 4th grade!!! Found a GF from 6th grade and many HS friends.

I do not work for that site and I recieved no compensation for shamelessly plugging them.

Absolutely!!!

If it is on scene while tending to a pt and it may compromise patient care, do it ASAP, however do it in a non condescending, in your face you screwed up way. This is when it is only minor things. If it is harmful to the pts life, you better speak up loud and clear. For instance if you see a medic getting ready to push the wrong drug or the wrong dose, stop them and ask them why they are doing it. Just be sure you are able to support your actions with facts, so that you are not stopiing the medic everytime he goes to push a drug.

Now about your wording.."do I have the right to TELL them they did something wrong"...

You have the right to bring it to their attention and see why it varies from what you percieved to be correct. See what the person was thinking and why they did something a certain way before you TELL them they were wrong. All of this is acceptable, its all just a matter of how you present it that either makes the medic fly off the handle and belittle you, or humbles him and he thanks you, or you learn a new way of doing something.

Excellent job Rid!

What a lovely way to end this topic.

Nice summary.

Nothing more can be said, only actions performed by us in our own respective communities will change anything.

This thread has run its course and I think it should end now while its on a positive note and to prevent anymore redundancy. I wish to thank everyone for contributing and stretching it out way past 10 pages without it getting locked due to fighting.

ADIOS!!!

If there are any type of "embarassing" information you need to know, try gaining it through a conversation with the patient. The other day we had a call that came in as an overdose. Pt. took a little more than 1/2 a bottle of tylenol. I figured more than likely she was attempting to kill herself, but I wanted to find out for sure. En route I was talking with her and through the conversation she told me she was indeed trying to end her life. Worst case scenario you can straight-up ask the patient, but I prefer trying to reveal private information through a casual conversation en route or on scene.

How is determining if she is trying to harm herself private or embarrassing information? Do yourself a favor, change your style. After a few years and some experience, you will realize the best way to find information is to ask directly. Do not beat around the bush. What if they croak or pass out before you get to the important stuff. Get your assessment done with all pertinent information then talk about the weather or whatever else you feel like. Do not attempt or rely on "casual conversation" to find out the critical information for your assessment. Sorry for the rant but right now I have visions of you asking about the weather and then saying by the way, did you take viagra in the last 48 hours. Ok, thats good, now how about the traffic around here, pretty crazy eh?

Dang Canadians always spelling words funny...

Its Muktuk...

Also avoid stinkheads, or stinkflippers..whichever they serve there

Fish ice cream, maybe give it a try..its an aquired taste.

I have worked in the arctic and I actually enjoyed it. However, I have no knowledge of the area or company you are referring to since it is in Canada. If you have any questions with regards to the arctic and unique situations I have encountered, feel free to ask. I still have some nice gear to sell if you are interested...lol.

Best I can tell in my simple words is that is the standard by which they use to ensure accuracy when measuring JVD.

Peripheral assessment is another crucial indicator of the progression of congestive heart failure. Dependent body parts (legs, feet, sacrum, and back) become edematous, as the left ventricle is no longer able to pump blood sufficiently, leading to the back up of blood into the peripheral venous circulation. There can also be seepage of fluid from these areas with pressure application. In severe cases, periorbital swelling (of the eyelids) occurs as well (Smeltzer, et al. 1994). As this build-up of volume occurs, jugular vein distension can be observed. The patient is elevated to a 45 degree angle, and the estimated distance between the angle of Louis and the level of the jugular vein distension is estimated. Any measurement greater than 3 cm is abnormal. Lastly, hepatojugular reflux is another indicator of peripheral congestion. The patient is made to breath normally while manual pressure is applied over the liver for 30-60 seconds. If neck distension increases greater than 1 cm, this is a positive test for increased venous pressure (Smeltzer, et al. 1994).

This one has a nice graphic for ya...

http://classes.kumc.edu/son/nurs352/Module_5/jvd.htm

ALMOST AT 10 PAGES!!!!

We havent had a 10 pager in a while....

Anything that generates this much discussion is usually shut down by page 6....

Keep it up!!!!!!!

Sorry folks, but I have decided to leave Emt City. I no longer enjoy it like I used to. I am so sick and tired of certain members attitudes and the headaches they are causing me. It was fun in the beginning but for now, I am done. Just need a break I guess.

Due to this exit, I have also decided to cancel the road trip. No need to waste time and money to see people I really don't care to see. I am just going to take the quickest shortest route to Florida.

Thank you to everyone...

Aprils Fool!!

Dude,

Hammer is a girl...and a hot one at that!

Who else is going to do it?

Do we need to hire billers for all our trucks?

Get real. Grow up..its a simple question and its one that is expected with any medical service that is provided.

Myabe its just me, but what is wronk with asking? I don't get it. You open your mouth, ask the question, get your answer and move on. They will not be insulted or offended, so why are you? Its simple, Do you have insurance for which we can bill for sevices rendered. If they say no, you then ask what about the 'caid?

Geez, we ask patients anything and everything about their deepest darkest medical secrets, yet we cant ask a simple do you have insurance question. You think a person is more likely to tell you about their veneral disease rather than what type of insurance they have. Get real!

Why is this a hassle? You go to the docs office and they ask for insurance, same for the dentists office. Are you offended? I'm not, and I wasnt even offended when I was on medicaid myself. Even in emergency situations, they ask you about insurance. Yes they treat you or stabilize as per the law, but as soon as you are concious or able to sign, the clerk is there getting a signature and asking about insurance. We need money people!! Why should EMS services be free when everything else is paid for? You want better salaries, newer equipment, paid staff??? Then bill for your services.

Prehospitally, if you need an IV that bad and you can't locate a vein, then use th EZ IO. Wonderful tool, works wonders. Just got it this year and wish I had it for my whole career. I think of all the people that could have benefited from it and it amazes me.

I already covered this a few months ago. Maybe you will get more responses than I did.

http://www.emtcity.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.ph...&highlight=

Japan's paramedics in a straitjacket

On April 1, Japanese paramedics will take a small but significant step toward catching up with their counterparts in the United States and Europe: For the first time in their brief 15-year history, they will be allowed to administer a drug, the heart stimulant epinephrine, though only in cases of cardiac arrest. Hopes are high among many ambulance workers that this will pave the way to the expansion of their role in emergency medical care. However, in the absence of any widespread public concern, the government has shown little sign of making further legislative changes or resource allocations in this direction.

The Japanese public, on the whole, is blissfully unaware of just how limited the scope of its emergency medical technicians is by the 1948 Medical Practitioner Law under which they operate. Recruited, trained and employed by fire departments of local governments, most Japanese paramedics were previously firefighters, and are still regularly rostered for firefighting duties. This accords with the fire authorities' traditional view of the primary role of paramedics as being to provide an emergency transport service to hospital. "In principle, paramedics are firefighters," in the words of a Tokyo Fire Department spokesman.

Yet today, emergency calls for ambulances far outnumber those for fire engines, as the incidence of fire has, thankfully, peaked. However, traffic congestion is causing ambulances to take longer to transport patients to hospital. In Tokyo, the average time taken is 40.4 minutes, well over the national average of 29.4 minutes -- and this is after taking 6.3 minutes, on average, to get to the scene of an emergency.

Clearly, this is all the more reason for expanding the role of ambulance rescuers, re-establishing them as full-fledged medical technicians capable of performing a broad range of emergency medical treatment in order to save more lives.

This is the norm in developed countries, and doctors say Japanese paramedics were created in 1991 with this objective. Over the last 15 years, however, it appears, minimum efforts have been expended toward this goal. Until three years ago Japanese paramedics weren't even permitted to use defibrillators without doctors' supervision -- via the phone. "I know of many cases where lives were lost while waiting for a doctor's approval," says an emergency physician at the Nippon Medical School Hospital in Tokyo. A one-minute delay reduces survival rate by between 7 percent and 10 percent, he says.

New legislation has removed such restrictions on using semiautomatic defibrillators and, from April 1, on administering epinephrine for resuscitation purposes only, and not for prevention of heart failure. Even if paramedics see the danger, current law dictates that "they must wait until the heart stops," says the physician.

Insertion of a tube through the mouth of the patient is now allowed, without a doctor's approval -- but only when breathing stops, and not before. Resuscitation is all that emergency technicians are allowed to do. Anything more such as alleviating pain or discomfort or performing lifesaving preventive procedures is classified as "medical practice" under the 1948 law, and as such remains the exclusive domain of qualified doctors in Japan.

That same Medical Practitioner Law, which long predates the existence of paramedics, also prohibits anyone except doctors and nurses -- and in exceptional cases patients' families -- from using a syringe.

In the July 7 London bombings, British paramedics were the first ones on the scene, injecting painkillers and feeding fluids through intravenous drips to critically injured victims as they lay in underground tunnels waiting to be evacuated. Japanese paramedics would not be allowed to do the same; nor would they presently have sufficient training to do so.

Retraining programs seem to be taking longer than expected. Nearly a year after the latest legislative change, only 51 of 1,500 paramedics in Tokyo are certified as qualified to administer the heart stimulant epinephrine starting April 1. Authorities say their resources are stretched. However, if the government's aim is to have paramedics of international standard in this country, resources must be found -- and quickly -- to give all Japanese paramedics world-class training.

In the meantime, in order to maintain uniformly high standards, the recruitment and subsequent career paths of paramedics should be separated from those of firefighters. Clearly, the aptitudes and skills required for fighting fires and providing emergency medical care are poles apart. Currently, Japanese paramedics are wearing both hats -- with increasing difficulty.

WOW!!

Is that an Ace post??

I am impresssed! I think that is the shortest, nicest and to the point post ever posted by Ace. Me thinks someone is shooting for different nominations in 2007...lol.

How funny is it that a newbie called out Rid...some people have no clue..that gave me a good laugh as well. Not only can the nebie NOT defend his flawed argument, he can not even spell EVOC correctly.

I would like to touch on the comment he made with due regards to safety. He said look right, look left and proceed.

I think he is the one viewing it from a narrow perspective. How many accidents ocurred that you did not see? They do not have to involve you. You can not control what other drivers will do. I have had people pull over or in front of other cars because they thought they were being helpful and trying to get out of my way. I felt bad for them, because only if they knew I was repsonding to total BS, they would think differently about L n S. For the record this was an old system that required L n S on everything. My last system was great with priority dispatching..and the strange thing was..it worked!!! Very rarely was something more serious than what we thought. But I hate the argument of what if it was your family, what would you want or do? You know what? It doesnt matter..IT IS NOT MY EMERGENCY!! Say it again, IT IS NOT MY EMERGENCY!!..Yes it may be a loved one, and I would be sad, but who are we to think first, that we are entitled to instant EMS, and secondly to think that we could and should cheat death at every opportunity. Death is natural, it is an integral part of living. Get over yourself and your heroics....

I am afraid you will be out of luck for quite some time.

As for your current certification level, there is no need to have you onboard an aircraft.

Some rotor programs allow observers for a few hours or a shift, but this is very rare.

There is too much liability to have a non employee flying along.

There are also weight considerations that must be figured in. Heavy pt or two pts and guess who will be left standing on scene as the bird leaves.

You will not be allowed to utilize your skills in a helicopter, which is crowded to start with unless you fly in the big monsters like me.

The programs that I know of that do allow observers, require that the observer be in the local area EMS profession.

As for fixed wing programs, with the exception of remote Alaska, Canada, and the reservations in AZ and NM, very few flight programs do emergency response with a fixed wing. This means that the flights most fixed wing programs perform are non emergency in nature, just requiring specialty care or treatment and/or the pts are being repatriated. This is one of themost common flights.

As for having riders on these flights, I have to ask you..Have you ever been inside of a Lear jet or KA 200? These are the most commonly used aircraft for fixed wing. They are cramped as well. Usually only one caregiver has direct access to the pt in a convienent fashion. Having a 3rd person on board, again adds unecesary weight and basically you will be in the way. In addition, a lot of these flights are very routine and mundane as they are not usually trauma in nature.

My advice to you is to continue on to paramedic or nursing, get a few years experience and then start hitting the programs hard. On average, it takes a minimum of 3-5 years busy ALS experience before most programs will even consider hiring you. Good luck with your endeavors and if I can provide any more info, ask away.

Emergency Responders Stretched Thin

(AP) _ The head of Emergency Medical Services in North Dakota says the workload has increased but the number of providers has remained the same or dropped.

Tim Meyer says rural emergency service operations are struggling, with nearly 20-percent of the volunteers over age 60 statewide.

He also says the services in the western part of the state have quite a distance between towns.

Meyer sees more consolidation to provide 24-hour service.

He says the state has 65-hundred emergency service providers, with 90 percent of them volunteers. He says they handle about 50-thousand calls a year.

The next generation of super jumbo jets will need a full-time medic on board, the Royal College of Nurses said today.

Rita Mody, a committee member of the college's In-flight Nurses Association, said the move is needed to make sure people who fall ill can get care immediately.

Statistics show that one in 1400 passengers have an onboard medical emergency and eight per cent of those incidents result in an unscheduled landing. Ms Mody said the high numbers of passengers that can be carried on Airbus A380s will lead to a "high probability that someone will fall ill".

The Airbus A380 is the world's largest passenger plane and can carry as many as 840 people.

Virgin Atlantic, which is putting the A380 into service in 2009, said its staff had extensive medical training. A spokeswoman said the airline planned to board no more than 550 passengers.

Thats what I miss about FL. We routinely intiated NTG drips, glass bottle and all. After doing that for several years, I got lost in my own little world and didn't realize hardly anyone else was doing them. Oh well, I will be back there soon enough....